How can someone tell the difference between a predestination paradox and a timeline that was altered and/or subsequently restored to a "close-enough" condition? Seems to me the events depicted in the movie First Contact are a "close-enough" restoration of the original timeline and not necessarily a predestination paradox.

There's no way to prove it was not a predestination paradox, let's put it that way.

What a headache.

The events of ENT vs The Borg suggest a predestination paradox.

Yet, are we supposed to believe that Riker and LaForge were predestined to be one of the top five most famous astronauts in history? Shit...what was Cochrane's cover-story for his crewmates? "ahhh...they were some Australian guys who jumped in to help in a pinch, and the Vulcans took them with them."